Warmth in Winter, Shade in Summer: Kotlik and environs

I spent most of the day in the garage with Paul. My little trusty 1994 Geo Prizm (188,000 mile) was skipping a beat every now and then. Simard Automotive charged us $159 to tell us it would cost $1500 to fix. I love that car! It stinks like a donkey's behind and the seats are worn through. The dent on the side reminds me of my years of sharing with my son...but darn...it gets 38 mpg and its easy to drive. We gave it a homegrown tune-up, replacing the distributor cap and wires, spark plugs, alternator belt, air filter, PCV valve and rotor and now it works fine. I also had the oil changed and cleaned off the battery connections since I was in there anyway. For $220, we fixed it ourselves. Works like a charm.

I'm sad to admit that my FB sound bites are somewhat replacing my blog entries. They are not nearly as satisfying, but they are more 2-way. There is something therapeutic though about blogging....completely selfish- I mean, really, publishing my diary? But I am writing again with new resolve.

This week was a quick overnight to Anchorage for the Curriculum Alignment Institute. The EED contractors, including me and the other math coaches, learned about enacted curriculum- what is actually taught compared to the aligned or assessed curriculum, what should be taught. We found out about cognitive rigor, a combination of Webb's Depth of Knowledge (4 levels of input/output relationships) and Bloom's Taxonomy (increasingly difficult levels of process). The ice on the streets of Anchorage made getting around very difficult. I was glad to have packed my crampons. Even so, getting a cab was nigh impossible so I stayed downtown instead of midtown.

The week before was a hectic week of work in Emmonak, Alakanuk and Kotlik. I arrived in Emmonak on Halloween and we (Arlie- reading coach, Gail- science coach and Jean-district math specialist) all went to the Emmonak Family Diner to have burgers or fried rice. The diner has pool tables and is open until 11, so teenagers wandered in to converse, have a coke and shoot pool. The little kids were out trick or treating- huge snowsuits, armor against the cold wind, and masks. Emmonak (meaning black fish) is right on the intersection of the Yukon and the Arctic Ocean. It's famous for Molly Hootch (who won the lawsuit to have village high schools), Walkie Charlies (a teacher buddy who just got his Ph.d here) and John Lamont, the superintendent of LYSD. Most of the school was built in the 1970s, but there was a great addition with a new gym and great library. We were treated royally and presented all day at the inservice on Monday.

We flew out on Tuesday morning to Alakanuk, the village first on the list in the state to get a new school. Nine teachers are new at this site and the school is very old, but there was lots of positive energy.


Kids are getting across the frozen Yukon in Alakanuk by icebreaking from their boat.

The weather in Alakanuk was beautiful, but cold when we flew out after just part of one day and part of another. Math Family Night had a pretty good showing and all the teachers volunteered. We left on Wednesday to go to Kotlik. On the way, we caught sight of over 50 moose grazing in the frozen tundra below us.

Kotlik is by far the friendliest village in LYSD that I've ever been to- the custodians at the school made sure we were comfortable with everything we needed. Teachers came over to say hi and the principal did too. We stayed in the library and spent all day Thursday in classes with teachers. On Friday, I had time to teach lattice multiplication to 9th graders and did some songs and stories with K/1. The agent came to pick us up in his little covered cart. We spent one night with Raphia and Brook, enjoying laughs and pasta with Moana and Virgenia as well. Len walked with us along the new boardwalk to the store where we bought juice and ice cream to donate to the dinner. It was hard to say goodbye to our new Kotlik friends, but we had convoluted connections to get home.

On the airstrip, the Grant pilot Debbie asked us to get in, but she was going back to Emmonak. Fortunately, I knew that we were supposed to go by Caravan right to Bethel, so we didn't get on. Good choice- otherwise we never would have made it to Alaska Airlines in time. We even had time to grab a $10 burger at Brother's Pizza, above Yute Air at the airport.

I arrived home by about midnight. It was great to sleep in my own bed. I love traveling, but it is always exhausting. Not only do I work hard the entire time I'm out, but I don't sleep well on the floors in the school and the food I carry can't be perishable so I don't eat very well either. I only have 2 more trips before Christmas....next week I'll be in Ft. Yukon and Circle and then after Thanksgiving, I'll be in Alakanuk and Nunam Iqua (Sheldon Point). I hope to blog again soon. Maybe a rant about Alaskan cretins and our political system. Sigh.